Living free, BY beth moore

For the LeaderHeavy stuff may have come up last week and will continue to this week as we dig into our moments of suffering and how God may want to use them to bring others into his kingdom. This is sacred territory in which we need to tread lightly.

As you prepare for your group this week, re-read the beginning of Chapter 11, pages 90 and 91. I love how when Margaret shared her deepest hurts and then brushed them off, Jennie Allen, as the group’s leader, stopped her and “whispered the only words I could think. ‘Margaret- that is not okay. I am so sorry.’” She goes on to note, “We did our best to allow her tears to fall in a safe place.”

That’s what we’re after: a safe place to share.

For the LeaderThis week especially we will need to remind ourselves and our group members that we’re not here to fix each other. We’ll need to intervene if someone does attempt to fix or give unsolicited advice. This is essential to our group being a safe haven and it’s our job as leaders to protect it.

We are a group of imperfect people pursuing a perfect God. We exist to help each other find and follow Christ. These are some things we want to be true of our group:

We create a safe and honest environment, staying transparent and authentic.

We keep it inside the circle. Confidentiality is necessary for a healthy group.

We look together to the Bible for help and guidance, and keep out our own politics, sales, or agendas.

We do not try to fix each other, preach sermons, or give unsolicited advice. We instead encourage, listen to, and celebrate each other.

We handle conflict between us quickly and honestly by going to the person, owning our part, and practicing forgiveness.

We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.

We trust that it is God’s role to change people, not ours.

We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.

What’s one word you’d choose to describe your week and why did you choose it?

For the LeaderListen to how your group member’s week went and follow up with anyone you feel led to reach out to.

For the LeaderThere are a lot of questions this week so help keep the group on task by moving the conversation along and politely interrupting when the conversation gets off course. The group looks to the leader to keep the gathering on topic and ending on time.

At the same time, don’t feel like you NEED to hit every topic! The Discussion Guide is there to help you, not as a checklist to mark off! Each topic’s questions could be an entire discussion… camp out on just one section for a while if that’s what your group needs. You can even start by asking which of the topics from this week stood out the most, and jump in right there.

Questions

On page 96, Jennie had us identify times in our lives when we felt pleasure, pride and satisfaction in what we were doing. What times did you feel this way?

Chapter 12 is about spiritualgifts. On page 100 Jennie asked, “What if the things you love to do collided with God’s will?” How may God want to use you to bless others and build his kingdom?

On page 102, Jennie writes about “the parking lots of life”, periods of waiting between recognizing our gifts and using them to their full potential. Have you ever experienced one of these seasons of waiting in between the glimpse of a vision and its fulfillment?

Chapter 13 is about suffering. On pages 118-119, Jennie helps us revisit our times of suffering.

How have these moments shaped your life?

What are some ways God may choose to use each experience to help someone else?

What are some ways your suffering drives your passions?

Chapter 14 is about all the places in our lives (city, state, country, job, school, kids’ school, etc). On pages 128-129, Jennie has us name our places.

Considering each place, are you supposed to stay there?

How can you could live more intentionally in each place?

What about your places makes you afraid?

Chapter 15 is about the people in our lives. From page 140, who are the people you want to be more intentional about spending time with?

Chapter 16 is about passions. From page 148:

Describe a time in when you met a need and felt fulfilled.

What needs or injustices do you see around you, either big or small?

What are your greatest passions and how can you use them for God’s glory?

Prayer

For the LeaderAsk everyone “how can we pray for each other this week?” Then end in prayer, giving God all of our hurts, suffering, gifts, passions and dreams. Ask him to use all of it for His glory.

Chapters 17-22 & Genesis Chapters 44-46

For the LeaderSend a reminder to your group, reminding them of what we’re reading for the homework this week. Encourage them to show up to group regardless of how much reading they completed, and mean it!